As we are all aware, the internet has really changed the way things are done in today’s world. In particular, most of us make very important and secure transactions using the internet; like paying for purchases, banking and transferring sensitive documents and other files online.

With the increased use of the internet, there has been an increase of cyber thieves who have developed techniques to crack the passwords and hack into people’s personal information. Unfortunately, many times the account owner is to blame because the password isn’t strong enough to ward off the “hackers” trying to break in.

In this post, I am going to give you a brief overview of passwords and some suggestions for choosing passwords that will help keep those cyber thieves at bay:

What is a password? A password is a set of characters, in a specific sequence that is usually case sensitive. Passwords are used in various protected internet/computer accounts, and together with the unique user name or ID, it confirms that the user or person trying to access the account is, in fact, the account holder.

The user name or ID is normally displayed or shown in the log-in box or in the pages of the account; but, the password is supposed to be known only to the account holder or owner and the system that runs the account.

The minimum and maximum number of characters in a password depends on the system set and normally consists of letters (upper and lower cases), numbers and other characters (like _ or ?). As the password is typed in, it appears only as asterisks (***) in the space provided so that its secrecy is maintained.

Choosing the best password. Now that you have an understanding of what a password is and how it functions, it’s time to discuss how to choose the best password to protect your accounts and enable them to withstand any attempts from hackers to access your information.

1. Don’t use a password that is in the dictionary

There are password cracking software programs out there that can determine the exact one in seconds. This rule includes not using domestic or foreign dictionaries.

2. Don’t use a password that used on your other accounts

If you do and a hacker gets access to one account he/she will then have access to ALL your accounts. And that, my friend, can spell disaster!

3. Don’t use commonly used passwords

Again, you want to make sure it is very difficult for someone to figure out your password, so don’t use something like “12345678.”

4. Don’t tell anyone your password

This should be obvious; but, a lot have people have been tricked into giving their password away over the phone or “phishing” sites, so be careful. Legitimate website companies (PayPal, banks, etc) will NEVER ask your password, so don’t get fooled.

5. Change your password often

Set up email or other reminders (or mark your calendars) so you don’t forget to change your emails often – at least every 3-6 months.

6. Don’t use passwords that are associated with you

It is important not to use passwords like your maiden name, place of birth, social security numbers, children’s names or phone numbers. You want to make sure the password is as difficult as possible to figure out so use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and other symbols allowed by the system. For example, use a password like “miG67Ped.”

Using a password like the example would take a long time for a hacker to guess and would most likely cause the hacker to just leave and move on to the next target.

Having said that, try and create a password that you will be able to remember. One way to do this is to associate the words and numbers with easy to remember words, dates or names. You could also save your passwords on a CD or USB and copy them as needed into the log-in form. Just remember to keep all password records offline.

In conclusion. Passwords are like the secret key to a secured internet/computer account. Do your best to make sure passwords do their job and make it as difficult as possible for cyber thieves to steal your account info and possibly your “life.” (i.e.: your identity, back account, etc.)

The Key to Your Account: choosing the Best Password is a post from: Computer Spot